Chapter 261: Seeing Someone Familiar Again
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The competition ring of the Challenge main hall was called the challenge ring. The rules of the ring were simple. Basically, it was a place to battle and receive constant challenges. The winner would receive a generous reward.
Every ring would be open for people to challenge. Even if there was nobody else inside, a challenge was still possible. When challenging an empty ring, one had to put down a minimum of 1,000 Contribution Credits as the challenge fee. Then, the person could proceed to the ring and begin the challenge.
The first three rounds were not challenges against people. Instead, they were battles of physical energy via stratagem techniques.
The first round of the battle of physical energy was equally matched to the ability of the challenger. The second one would have a stronger physical energy and difficulty level appearing.
Meanwhile, the third round would have and even greater physical energy difficulty level. If one was able to persevere till the third round, without being defeated, then they won the challenge.
After winning the challenge, the stratagem system would automatically repay them 3,000 Contribution Credits, the prize for completing the challenge. Going from 1,000 to 3,000 Contribution Credits, a single challenge could thus earn a person 2,000 Contribution Credits!
However, if someone lost any of the rounds of the challenge, they failed the challenge altogether. The person would then be escorted out of the competition ring, and that 1,000 initial Contribution Credits fee would have been lost. To an ancient martial art practitioner, who is capable enough, this was a very effective method of earning Contribution Credits.
However, the stratagem system was based on an individual’s cultivation. This is how the strength of the physical energies were decided upon. The higher one’s cultivation, the stronger the physical energy they would be faced against. Hence, those with higher cultivations may not necessarily have the advantage.
After completing all three rounds of the challenge, the challenger still had two other choices. One of the choices was to leave the challenge and redeem the prize. The other choice was to continue battling. However, the battle would no longer be against the physical energy, but rather against real people.
If the challengers decided to continue the challenge after completing all three rounds, they would proceed into the next competition model. In the Challenge main hall, anyone could participate in the challenge. This meant that every single person in the hall could go into the ring and challenge that initial challenger.
If that initial challenger had won beforehand, the subsequent fourth round was a challenge against a live person. The reward would then increase to 4,000.
Then, the initial challenger could choose whether or not to continue on. If one chose to stop, he would have completed the challenge immediately and receive the reward.
If one chose to continue and proceeded to win the fifth round of the challenge, the reward would increase yet again. However, if one lost any of the rounds during the challenge process, it would be considered a failure of the entire challenge. The result of a failed challenge was a complete loss of all prize rewards, meaning that one would end up with nothing.
As for the challenges with live humans after the initial three rounds, the condition to participate was also a fee of 1,000 Contribution Credits. If they succeeded in winning against the person in the contribution ring, all of that person’s reward would then go to the winner.
However, if one lost the challenge, the situation would be the same as before. There would be no reward, only a net loss of 1,000 Contribution Credits.
Most of those, who were surrounding the rings of other challengers instead of participating in the preliminary challenges themselves, were those who wanted to swoop in midway, with the intentions of having things easier for them to then compete.
If someone continuously challenged forward, the Contribution Credits would keep increasing. Afterwards, a new challenger simply had to win once to get everything that the previous person had worked for.
Hence, many people did not participate in the preliminary challenge. After all, it would only earn them 2,000 Contribution Credits for three consecutive rounds, so it almost did not feel worth it. So, if it was possible to intercept someone, who liked to continue challenging forward, it was a highly beneficial trade.
This was because the process of challenging consecutively would have a greater toll on the challenger’s Inner Qi. Their combat effectiveness would then be on a continuous decline. And, the further on it proceeded, the higher the chances one had in succeeding in the challenge.
Mo Wen looked at the surging crowds. The few competition rings were bustling with activity. He sighed with emotion, thinking to himself how unusual the methods of the Huatian Palace were.
The motive of the Challenge main hall was to give the Executors first-hand experience in battle, as well as to observe other people’s battles. They would then be able to notice and learn new things that they would not have been able to otherwise.
Although the Simulation main hall could imitate a variety of environments, these environments were still imaginary. As such, there was still a difference between that and a situation in reality. The Challenge main hall’s battles were real battles against real people, so the feelings and experiences attained there would be the most genuine.
As for the reward system, its motive was to ignite the Executors’ enthusiasm. Clearly, the method was very useful. Using Contribution Credits to tempt the Executors of the Huatian Palace had seen impressive results.
Thinking about it, completing the fourth round would earn one 4,000 Contribution Credits, completing the fifth round would earn one 8,000 Contribution Credits, completing the sixth round would earn one 16,000 Contribution Credits…and so on…
If one could consecutively complete 10 rounds of the challenge, it would be akin to getting rich overnight. Naturally, many were tempted by that idea!
However, completing 10 rounds of the challenge consecutively was no easy feat. It was as difficult as rising to the sky! That was because the further into the challenge one got, the higher the rewards became, so naturally, it would also be more attractive to the competitors.
If one was able to beat someone else in the tenth round, that person would become rich overnight. Moreover, they would be gaining from the other person’s misfortune.
Hence, the further on the challenge proceeded, the more passionate the challengers became. Basically, everyone downstage would have their eyes trained on you, and perhaps only those exceptional people with extraordinary talents would have the possibility of continuing to win.
Truthfully, Mo Wen was also a little tempted by all of this. In order to save up enough Contribution Credits to exchange for spiritual medicine through the means of completing missions, he did not know just how it would take him. He could only become rich overnight if he completed a mission on the Savages List.
However, that was basically no different from him looking for death! This Challenge main hall, on the other hand, had actually given him some hope of another possibility.
Mo Wen circled around the first level. He noticed that all of the people on the first level were Three stars Executors. They were ancient martial art practitioners with the beginning to intermediate stage of the Qi Nucleation realm. He had not noticed any high-level ancient martial art practitioners.
Evidently, the first level of the Challenge main hall was allocated for the Three stars Executors. The Challenge main hall for the Four stars Executors should then be on the second level.
Naturally, there were no incidences of challenges between Four stars and Three stars Executors. Those would clearly be unfair battles.
Only Executors of the same level could battle each other, unless the party being challenged agreed to accept the challenge of someone of a higher level. However, the chances of that happening were slim to none.
Although Mo Wen’s abilities had far surpassed those Executors on the first level, he was unable to join in their challenges. He could only proceed on to the second level to have a look around.
“Why has that boy come into our Vermillion Bird Palace Hall? It’s weird.”
“Exactly, it’s so weird! Could it be that he snuck in secretly? He will be in trouble if he gets caught.”
“Are you stupid? Just what kind of place is the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall? How can one possibly sneak in here secretly?”
“Then, how could he come in? It can’t be that the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall recruited another male Executor, right?”
“Look at him. He’s going up to the second level. His rank is probably even higher than us…”
“Tch, perhaps he could just be heading up to watch the duels between the masters to learn some battle skills. Just look at how young he is. How high of a cultivation could he possibly have?”
…
Although many people were focused on the battle in the competition ring, Mo Wen’s appearance had attractive some people’s attention. They started to discuss him, forgetting all about the battle in the competition ring for a while.
However, nobody in the Challenge main hall had come up to Mo Wen to strike up a conversation. Hence, he was able to proceed up to the second level without any obstructions.
The second level was basically no different from the first level. It had the same huge plaza, with many competition rings and many people surrounding them. The only difference was that the cultivation of those women on the second level was far better than those on the first level.
Mo Wen had just gone onto the second level, when one of the battles in a competition ring had attracted his attention. In the ring, he saw someone familiar. It was the young girl, Liu Shanshan, who was also in the Fengwu team.
At the moment, she was battling with someone in the competition ring. However, from what he could see, her situation did not look very optimistic.
Meeting someone familiar to him inevitably caused curiosity to well up within Mo Wen. Hence, he stepped towards that competition ring. Currently, there were no less than 200 to 300 people surrounding the ring, as the popularity of that ring was even higher than some of the other competition rings.
Mo Wen’s appearing attracted the attention of some people. Many of them looked at him, their emotions ranging from shock to curiosity, and even confusion.
Why had this guy appeared in the Challenge main hall of the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall?
However, there were some people who were not shocked at all. That was because, when Mo Wen had been in the Vermillion Bird Palace Hall before that, he had caused quite a commotion. Moreover, Pei Fengwu had even made an appearance, so many people already knew about him.
“Mo Wen, why have you come here?”
A voice rang out suddenly from nearby. Soon after, a young girl in a pink skirt walked over. She looked at Mo Wen, a little surprised. Clearly, she had not expected Mo Wen to appear in this place.
“I’ve come to have a look.”
Mo Wen smiled, seeing that he had met another familiar person yet again.
He recognized the young girl from a fateful meeting once before. He remembered that her was Wang Xiaoyuan.
She was on rather good terms with Liu Shanshan, who was in the competition ring. Normally, they were like sisters, often hanging out together. The two of them were members of the Fengwu team.
“What’s there to see? With your level of Cultivation, why have you even come up to the second level?”
Wang Xiaoyuan rolled her eyes at Mo Wen. In her impression, Mo Wen was a youth with a rather low cultivation. He was only a Two stars Executor and had only been able to enter due to his connections. After all, under normal circumstances, the people who could appear in the Huatian Palace were ancient martial art practitioners, having the Qi Nucleation realm at the very least.
Meanwhile, a Two stars Executor would at most be of the Sea of Qi realm. In the context of the Huatian Palace, that was simply like a blade of grass in a forest of huge trees. A simple step could easily flatten it
Mo Wen smiled, but did not say anything. These two young girls had a prejudice towards him, probably because of Mo Qingtian. Hence, he would rather not say anything. He simply pretended not to have heard anything, so as to not rile her up.
“Why are you still not going down?”
Wang Xiaoyuan looked at Mo Wen, who had not moved at all. He seemingly had no intention to leave. She could not help but furrow her brows, as if she wanted to chase Mo Wen away.
However, her gaze shifted to the competition ring from time to time. When her gaze returned to Mo Wen, there was an anxious look in her eyes.
“Relax, I’ve already seen it. Liu Shanshan will lose the battle.”
Mo Wen shrugged his shoulders and said, while looking Wang Xiaoyuan in the eyes with amusement. From her expression before, he knew that she did not want him to witness Liu Shanshan losing a battle. The reason was probably due to pride or something along that line.
After all, Mo Wen was part of the Fengwu team, meaning that he was a newcomer on the same mission team as them. If they were to let him witness Liu Shanshan losing a battle, they would feel like they had lost face in front of him.